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I am offended! Said another way … “You offend me!”

There is a lot of outrage all over the place. Scrolling through any Facebook feed will immediately meet with a lot of outrage and offense. I am thinking of some of my sisters as I write this. I won’t quote them or direct you to them because I was given a tongue sharp enough to sting and lips the colour of Hemlock, I will not form the words that sign their death warrant (in the public humiliation arena). What would delivering a hefty dose of leathal shame achieve? I am hoping for an argument!

Your Rights End Where My Feelings Begin!

Yes – things don’t go well all the time. Yes – there is also injustice, racism, sexism, mental illness-ism, I am “not you”-isms ‘like everywhere’. There is also mind numbing stupidity and psychological somnambulism which is very difficult to feel part of when you yourself are not actually asleep. In fact most of us human bods feels deeply uncomfortable in the presence of people who form a Group, of which – we are not. Or worse … when that Group chucks you out either covertly or overtly. There is not a being among us who has not felt excluded, eliminated, rejected – bel’ied dat!

Today I am writing for a sister who is just flat out offended by … on the surface it seems she is offended by anyone who is not her, or does not think exactly like her. She calls for tolerance by preaches totalitarianism, she calls for kindness but is herself brutal, she calls for gender equity but is herself clearly favouring women and sometimes women avoid things, like responsibility or consequences. Like when you kinda sort swipe the driver’s side car door backing out of the drive-way because it is so damn hot! She calls for peace but seems well on the way to recreating the Gaza Strip. She points fingers at privilege but is unaware of her own. There is privilege to being able to see, what others cannot. Cannot change what you cannot see. Cannot hope to understand what you cannot see.

She is … yes friends, she is angry as hell! And keen to let the world know it in manner that rivals Alanis Morrisette’s early work. You know her early work? Don’t you? You oughta know! I am not marginalizing her. I am deeply aware of my own Inner Alanis Morrisette “the younger”. I have even made an ally out of deadly poisonous plants. We are friends. Me and my Angry Woman. And yes – me and Hemlock. But just because you can hit the detonation button … doesn’t mean you should. Still I embrace diversity, the engine that fuels evolution, growth and this crazy journey we have as human beings. What is good for the goose …

So here is my reply. I have gone to JP Sears for assistance in getting offended. He has helpfully created a great video that breaks this difficult skill down in to component parts and easy to follow steps, just like a recipe.

But if this is not enough … here is David Bedrick doing a FaceBook Live Video, on why looking within is essential to changing what you see and experience “out there”, in the world.